Heinrich Responds To Latest Developments On Ben Archer Health Center In Southern New Mexico Turning Away Patients Without Birth Certificates On-hand
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
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- “What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal.” –Heinrich
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement today after constituents notified his office that Ben Archer Health Center was denying medical care to individuals unable to provide “proof of citizenship’:
“What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal. I am glad they reversed course, and that they did it quickly. Let this be a lesson to all health care Read More
New Mexico Primary Care Council Meeting Feb. 27
NMHCA News:
Notice is hereby given that the New Mexico Primary Care Council will convene for a regular meeting Thursday, Feb. 27. The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. and will be held virtually via Zoom. The public is welcome, and information about how to join the meeting is below.
Copies of the agenda will be posted and available on the Health Care Authority’s website. Copies may also be obtained by contacting Alex Willey, Staff Manager – MAD at alexandra.willey@hca.nm.gov. An individual with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified signed language interpreter, or other form Read More
NMDOH Raises Awareness To Keep Kids’ Teeth Healthy
NMDOH News:
SANTA FE — Throughout February, the New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Office of Oral Health Program is raising awareness about the importance of starting healthy dental habits at an early age.
“Healthy teeth are essential to a child’s overall well-being and success in life” said Leisha D. Ortiz, Interim Director of the NMDOH Office of Oral Health. “As we celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month, we want to remind families that dental health outcomes are mainly determined by daily habits. Regular dental visits and healthy habits that begin early in life help to Read More
Chamber Business After Hours & Open House At Los Alamos Medical Center’s Endoscopy Center 1911 Central March 18
LAMC News:’
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and a perfect opportunity to get to know the Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) Endoscopy Center in downtown Los Alamos.
Everyone is invited to attend the Chamber Business After Hours and Community Open House 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 for:
- A tour of our Endoscopy Center;
- An opportunity to meet providers and staff;
- Key information on colon & rectal cancer prevention; and
- Light refreshments.
The Endoscopy Center is at 1911 Central Ave., Suite 100, next to Aspen Copies.
More than 50,000 people die from colon cancer each year in the United Read More
NM Celebrates 20th Annual Behavioral Health Day Feb. 26
NMHCA News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Behavioral Health Planning Council will host its 20th annual Behavioral Health Day at the State Capitol Wednesday, Feb. 26.
This year’s theme celebrates “20 Years of Resiliency, Prevention, and Healing Together,” and highlights two decades of advocacy in mental health and substance use recovery.
Behavioral Health Day takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda, bringing together peers, family members, advocates, providers, and policymakers to highlight the importance of mental health and substance use prevention, treatment and recovery Read More
Democratic Leaders Say Children, Youth And Families Dept. Reform, Crime To Be Priorities In Second Half Of Session
Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, speaks at a news conference on the House floor on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, to discuss the progress lawmakers have made in addressing crime and behavioral health. Nathan Brown/The New Mexican
Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, speaks at a news conference on the House floor on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, to discuss the progress lawmakers have made in addressing crime and behavioral health. Nathan Brown/The New Mexican
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, speaks at a news conference on the House floor on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, to discuss the Read More
Public Safety, Behavioral Health Bills Pass Senate, House
Sen. Joseph Cervantes
By ESTEBAN CANDELARIA and NATHAN BROWN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Bills to crack down on crime and improve New Mexico’s behavioral health system took major steps forward Friday and may reach the governor’s desk soon.
House Bill 8, which would reform criminal competency laws as well as cracking down on shooting threats, fentanyl trafficking and drunken driving, passed the Senate 38-3 Friday evening after extensive debate. The bill needs to go back to the House to concur with or reject some amendments made in the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week and on the Senate Read More
Baby Bonds A Crucial Investment In New Mexico’s Health
By Dr. Samuel Swift, MPH, PhD
As an assistant professor teaching public health, I begin every class by asking my students what they believe is the biggest public health problem in New Mexico. Semester after semester, the most common answer I get is “poverty”.
Our students know intuitively what over a century of epidemiological research has shown, which is that wealth creates health.
New Mexicans who have more educational and economic opportunities live longer lives, are more able to avoid preventable diseases, and contribute more to our community. Unfortunately, many of our young adults Read More
Senate Bill 176 To Reform New Mexico’s Medical Malpractice Law Gains 20 Bipartisan Sponsors
From Think New Mexico:
Senate Bill 176, which proposes three patient-centered reforms to New Mexico’s medical malpractice law, continues to gather momentum and has now picked up 20 bipartisan sponsors:
Democratic Sponsors of SB 176
- Sen. Martin Hickey (D-Abq)
- Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup)
- Sen. Bobby Gonzales (D-Taos)
- Sen. Liz Stefanics (D-Santa Fe)
- Rep. Anita Gonzales (D-Las Vegas)
- Rep. D. Wonda Johnson (D-Rehoboth)
- Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup)
- Rep. Marian Matthews (D-Abq)
- Rep. Joseph Sanchez (D-Alcalde)
- Rep. Sarah Silva (D-Las Cruces)
Republican Sponsors of SB 176
- Sen. Pat Woods
LAMC Continues To Seek Applicants For Patient Representative Position On Hospital Board Of Trustees
LAMC News:
Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) continues to seek individuals who have received care at the hospital within the last year to apply for a three-year term on the hospital’s Board of Trustees as Patient Representative. This individual will play a key role as the patient “voice” advocate for the Board.
The Board is a collection of medical providers, community members and hospital administrators that meets in the evening every month at the hospital.
Among the responsibilities for the Patient Representative:
- Help identify what our hospital is doing well and also help pinpoint areas
Fracking Wastewater Slashed From ‘Strategic Supply’ Bill, But $74 Million Allocation Remains
Norm Gaume
President
New Mexico Water Advocates
By ALAINA MENCINGER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made waves in 2023 when she announced a plan to ensure a secure water source for New Mexico.
She pointed to two unorthodox, untapped water resources: brackish water — or naturally occurring, salty water — and what’s known as “produced water” — a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing.
The latter instantly generated controversy.
Although the measure floundered last year, Lujan Grisham was ready to try again to incentivize the treatment and reuse of both brackish Read More
NMDOH: Measles Outbreak Declared In Lea County
NMDOH News:
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reports two adult Lea County residents tested positive for measles Thursday– as confirmed by the NMDOH Scientific Laboratory Division – totaling to three cases this week.
New Mexico meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s outbreak criteria with three unrelated cases in Lea County. The cases border Texas’s Gaines County, where cases have jumped from 2 to 48 cases in two weeks. While a connection to the Texas outbreak is suspected, it remains unconfirmed.
“We are investigating every suspected case, and we encourage Read More
Bipartisan Legislation Introduced To Bring New Mexico Into Nine Major Interstate Compacts For Health Care Workers
Fred Nathan, Jr.
Executive Director
Think New Mexico
From Think New Mexico:
A bipartisan team of 10 legislators has introduced a package of bills to bring New Mexico into the interstate compacts for physicians, physician assistants, psychologists, counselors, dentists and dental hygienists, emergency medical personnel, audiologists and speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. (See below for a chart listing all bill numbers and sponsors.)
Joining these interstate compacts was one of the top reforms recommended by the nonpartisan think tank Think New Read More
New Mexico Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program Returns
NMDOH News:
SANTA FE — The Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program, which provides benefits for eligible seniors and families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) has returned.
This seasonal program, provided by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), helps connect income-eligible seniors (60 and older, or 55 and older for Native Americans) and WIC families with locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. The program for seniors also includes local honey.
“Eating a healthy diet is key to thriving at every stage of life,” said Read More
School-Based Health Centers Making A Difference Statewide
NMDOH News:
SANTA FE — Children in New Mexico public schools can focus more on lessons after a recent expansion of School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) has provided care that helps keep them in the classroom.
February is National School-Based Health Care Awareness month and an opportunity to celebrate successes and raise awareness about how SBHCs improve access to health care services for children and adolescents and make a difference in their lives today and in the future.
The New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Office of School & Adolescent Health Office funds 59 of the more than Read More
Robinson: Patients Sound Off On Medical Malpractice Costs
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2024 New Mexico News Services
This is how bad New Mexico’s medical malpractice problem is. Reader Carl Hester, of Hobbs, writes that when he went to a doctor in Lubbock, he had to sign a statement, apparently intended for New Mexicans, saying “any lawsuit or other dispute arising from or related to medical care I receive from (the provider) will be brought only in an appropriate court located in Lubbock.”
New Mexico’s reputation for doctor targeting, judge shopping and sky high awards has spread to Texas, where a great many people living on the East Side go for medical Read More
Trio Of Behavioral Health Bills Pass New Mexico Senate
NM Senate Democrats News:
SANTA FE — Marking a major step forward in the legislature’s shared commitment to addressing New Mexico’s behavioral health and public safety crisis, a suite of behavioral health bills cleared the Senate floor Friday, now advancing to the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 3 (passed 37-5), the Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act, empowers a newly established Behavioral Health Executive Committee to create behavioral health regions across the state (based on counties or judicial districts). With key stakeholder engagement, Read More
Skolnik: Stop The Destruction Of USAID And Save Lives!
By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock
I am a White Rock resident and longstanding global health specialist, I have prepared a brief YouTube video to comment on the efforts by the US Administration to freeze foreign assistance for health.
Billion Dollar Behavioral Health Trust Fund Passes Senate
By ALAINA MENCINGER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A massive investment in the state’s behavioral health care system swept through the New Mexico Senate on Friday — and, with five weeks to go in the legislative session, in record time.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth in January promised to turbo-charge the process and get a package of public safety-related legislation to the governor’s desk as soon as possible.
If the bill numbers were any indication, the plan’s working so far. With almost 400 bills filed in the Senate alone, the trio of bills — SB1, SB2 and SB3 — was first in line.
The bipartisan Read More
Think New Mexico: Healthcare Compact Bills HB 79, 81, 82 To Be Heard 11 AM Saturday In House Judiciary Committee
